Why it works: Potato and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,355 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Loaf Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Rub the boiled potatoes through a drainer into a large jar, adding a little warm water to help them pass through.
Add 5 quarts of lukewarm water, 1 pint of baking yeast, and 3 ounces of coarse sea salt; mix in enough flour to make a thin batter.
Cover and let it stand in a warm place for 10 hours.
Make the dough
Add 1 quart of hotter water and another 3 ounces of coarse sea salt; beat well with your hand, adding flour until stiff.
Let it stand for 2 hours longer.
Pour the mixture onto a baking table and knead in enough flour to make a smooth dough.
Shape and bake
For cottage loaves, divide 2 pounds of dough into two, shape them round and smooth, and place one on top of the other.
Press down in the center to shape the loaves, place them on a baking tin, and let them prove in a warm place for nearly 1 hour.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 1 hour.
Brush the tops with a little cold water when done.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Add moisture and starch that give the bread a soft, moist crumb.
- Baking yeast
- Produces gas during the long rise, leavening the dough so it becomes light.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and elasticity.
- Coarse sea salt
- Controls yeast activity and strengthens gluten, giving flavor and a firmer structure.
The step that matters
Beating in the hotter water and flour until stiff. The dough must be worked until it stiffens and gluten develops; too little flour leaves it slack and sticky, and it will not hold its shape in the loaves.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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